U.S. News: Surveillance Vote Fails, In Setback to Speaker --- GOP holdouts sink measure in House after statement from Trump to 'kill FISA'

"WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Mike Johnson's tenuous grip on the gavel was dealt another blow Wednesday, after holdout Republicans egged on by former President Donald Trump derailed passage of a critical but controversial national-security spying law.

The procedural vote related to renewing the law, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, failed with 193 in favor and 228 opposed. The failed vote plunges the fate of the surveillance power into uncertainty a week before it is due to expire.

Democratic and Republican administrations have said the Section 702 program is vital to protecting Americans from terrorists, hackers and other foreign threats. But the law has animated critics on the left and right for years for how it allows the collection of some American communications without a warrant.

Johnson (R., La.) has urged passage of the legislation, saying that changes to the law would prevent certain abuses. But the morning of the vote, Trump inveighed against the proposal. "KILL FISA, IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!" Trump said on Truth Social.

FISA grants spy agencies broad authority to collect communications from U.S. technology firms to hunt for national-security threats living overseas. There is no evidence that the specific law at issue, Section 702, has been used to spy on Trump or any of his campaigns. Trump signed an extension of Section 702 into law in 2018.

A different section of the law that isn't due to lapse was used to obtain wiretaps on Trump's 2016 campaign staffer Carter Page, a move that a Justice Department inspector general later sharply criticized after a litany of errors regarding the surveillance application were uncovered.

The Trump statement was seen as helping to tip sentiment against the proposal.

"When Trump puts out a statement like that, people get scared," said Rep. Max Miller (R., Ohio) of House Republicans.

House Republicans emerged from a heated closed-door meeting Wednesday evening without clarity about the path forward. For some it felt similar to the infighting and paralysis that led to the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) six months ago.

"I'm having deja vu about the deja vu," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R., Fla.).

The majority party is responsible for passing a rule, a procedural step that allows the speaker to set up a simple-majority vote on the House floor. The minority party typically votes against the rule, regardless of the underlying legislation.

On Wednesday, 19 Republicans joined Democrats to tank the rule. The opponents included a crew aligned with the House Freedom Caucus, including Rep. Bob Good (R., Va.), the group's chairman, and Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas). Until last year, no rule vote had failed for two decades.

After the failed vote, Johnson said Republicans would regroup and formulate another plan. "We cannot allow Section 702 of FISA to expire. It's too important to national security. I think most of the members understand that," the speaker said.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) said House Republican leaders were trying to frighten people into voting against the warrant requirement in private conversations and at classified briefings in secure facilities called SCIFs.

Trump and Johnson are planning to appear together at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Friday for a joint announcement on election integrity, according to the speaker's political team.

The setback for GOP leadership comes as Johnson now faces an effort from within his own party to remove him.

Ahead of the vote, Johnson met with top critic Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.), who filed a motion to remove Johnson last month but has yet to take the next step of forcing a vote. Greene and other dissidents have soured on Johnson over federal spending and efforts to provide more funding to Ukraine. With a 218-213 majority, Johnson can only afford to lose a handful of votes on any legislation, assuming no Democratic backing.

"He does not have my support, and I'm watching what happens with FISA and Ukraine," said Greene following the meeting.

In a meeting with House Republicans Wednesday morning, Johnson argued for renewing and reforming FISA, calling the spying program vital to understanding the threats against the U.S. Johnson told members that he had spoken with Trump on Tuesday night, according to a lawmaker in the room. Johnson didn't specify the topic, but the lawmaker took Johnson's comments as designed to show that the speaker wasn't on the outs with Trump.

Absent congressional action, the law will expire in April. But Johnson may have an out, as some experts say the law could potentially continue for another year due to how and when the secretive court that oversees the program grants annual approval for the categories of intelligence collection it allows.

Section 702 of FISA allows the U.S. to track the electronic communications of terrorists, spies and hackers overseas that route through U.S. technology firms. Though intended to collect conversations from suspected national security threats located overseas, the program ensnares an unknown volume of private communications that belong to Americans." [1]

1. U.S. News: Surveillance Vote Fails, In Setback to Speaker --- GOP holdouts sink measure in House after statement from Trump to 'kill FISA'. Volz, Dustin; Wise, Lindsay.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 11 Apr 2024: A.5.